1. An apology motivated by the realization that one’s past conduct was unjust, unfair, and wrong, constituting an unequivocal admission of wrongdoing as well as regret, remorse and contrition, as part of a sincere effort to make amends and seek forgiveness.
2. An apology motivated by the realization that one’s legitimate and defensible action or words caused unanticipated, excessive, or unnecessary harm to a particular party or parties. The apology expresses a sincere regret that the harm occurred.
3. An apology motivated by a desire to accept accountability for an event or occurrence that one may not have caused, but was responsible for in some way.
4. A spontaneous apology intended to demonstrate compassion and sympathy for the victim or victims of the unavoidable consequences of a necessary action.
5. A spontaneous apology designed to prevent future, preventable harm by expressing regret that a past action was necessary or that it occurred at all.
6. A forced or compelled version of 1-4, when the individual (or organization) apologizing knows that an apology is appropriate but would have avoided making one if he or she could have gotten away with it.
7. A forced or compelled version of 1-4, in which the individual (or organization) apologizing may not sincerely believe that an apology is appropriate, but chooses to show the victim or victims of the act inspiring it that the individual responsible is humbling himself and being forced to admit wrongdoing by the society, the culture, legal authority, or an organization or group that the individual’s actions reflect upon or represent .
8. A forced apology for a rightful or legitimate act, in capitulation to bullying, fear, threats, desperation or other coercion.
9. Deceitful apologies, in which the wording of the apology is crafted to appear apologetic when it is not (“if my words offended, I am sorry”). Another variation: apologizing for a tangential matter other than the act or words that warranted an apology.
10. An insincere and dishonest apology designed to allow the wrongdoer to escape accountability cheaply, and to deceive his or her victims into forgiveness and trust, so they are vulnerable to future wrongdoing.
11. The Impossible Apology: An inherently unbelievable apology for conduct or words so unethical and so extreme that nobody could possibly say or engage it accidentally or unintentionally. Such an apology for words or conduct of signature significance, indicating that the speaker or wrongdoer is unethical and untrustworthy because no individual who is ethical and trustworthy would behave in such a manner even once, is not merely cynical and a travesty, but insulting to its intended audience.
The wording of the ad is almost perfect Level One apology content. Then again, every one of the eleven apology varieties on the list except #8 could describe the ad. Which one would you say is most accurate?
Some considerations:
1. “Ye” (My bias: I have a hard time taking anyone seriously who manufactures a name like “Ye” for his or her public persona.) is a cancelled celebrity because of his many ugly flirtations with fascism and anti-Semitsim, not to mention Donald Trump. It is in his financial and career interests to be forgiven. On that basis, it is reasonable to suspect that the ad is a #10.
2. Arguably, an apology for wrongful words or conduct that uses an illness or medical condition as an excuse is no different from the popular Pazuzu Excuse, when a politician or celebrity claims that the conduct “wasn’t who I am,” usually blaming drug abuse or alcoholism, and announces that he or she is entering rehab. Don’t blame me! I was sick! belongs in the same category as “the dog ate my homework.”
3. Someone with psychiatric expertise will have to explain if the bi-polar disorder can turn someone into a Nazi who isn’t already so inclined. I am dubious, to put it mildly.
4. West was a cultural bull in a china shop from the minute he became famous. Was his hijacking the Katrina telethon and announcing that President Bush didn’t care about blacks also the result of his closed head injury? West has always been a toxic asshole, and his ad begs for forgiveness regarding only a select examples of his persistent rotten behavior. Yes, I’m leaning toward marking his apology as a #10.
5. Did he even write this? I’d say that the odds are slim. On social media many are claiming that the ad has AI written all over it, but it could easily be the work of a publicist or reputation consultant. That would be my guess. One of the ways AI has made our world a little worse is that it is now frequently impossible to tell what is genuine and what isn’t. Similarly, “Ye” has always sold himself as a fearless truth-teller. Now he wants to be forgiven because what he thought was truth-telling at the time turned out to be offensive to the wrong people—or is it just that it was costing him money and losing him contracts? If we haven’t seen the real “Ye” for 25 years, how do we know who or what he really is?
6. West is preparing to release new music for sale. Take that as you will…
Ethics Alarms 
“My words as a leader in my community have real global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that. ” I doubt the veracity of that statement. It certianly reveals he, like all celebbreties, are Narcissistic .
However, his desription of Bi-polar Disorder is spot on. Almost like he had a copy of the DSM in front of him.
If he dad a trauamtic brain injury, as he said, this also can lead to behavioral and congnitive chanes. You, Jack, have pointed, that out freqeuntly, regarding the effects of a career in football.
The “apology” sounds sincere, based on fact. But there is that “sale” motivation to contend with.
#5 For sure he was on some really potent stuff to bring him down to everyone else’s sober reality if he wrote this.
#6 Is this him leveraging cognitive dissonance?
I’m no psychologist, but my grandmother has manic depression and when she is on the manic phase, she is INCREDIBLY self destructive. When she hits the depressive phase, she seems to have no sense of what she has done. Things have gotten so bad with her decisions when manic, and her denials of them, over the years that I’ve been asked if I can play “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” at the funeral, and I’m not sure the requester was joking. I am also unsure if I’m able to resist the temptation.
I don’t know if mania can cause anti-Semitism. I personally, with no expertise, believe that when a person is in mania, they just turn off the filter we all have on our words and behavior and become the loudest, most obnoxious version of themselves. As this is a totally uninformed opinion, it should be treated as worth two cents at most. But that’s how I look at these folks.
I personally look at what Kanye is saying here and conclude that he probably did not remember doing these things. He may be an anti-Semite, but knows to keep that to himself, normally. I know there are things deep in my brain that I don’t let past the filter and refuse to act upon that make me a less than noble person, but I also don’t have a manic phase that turns off my self control. Therefore, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, assuming he has been treated for and is probably on medication for his illness. Of course, his music is nothing I will ever be interested in, so as a non-consumer, I may be able to afford magnanimity when someone else who is considering what to do with their money may have a harder time believing him.
A good friend’s husband is manic depressive, too. When in a mania, he spends like there’s no tomorrow. She’s had to send items back, close credit card accounts, freeze their credit so he can’t take out more card accounts and, when his father was alive, freeze his credit because her husband opened accounts in his father’s name.
In a depressive state, which is where he is now, he lays around and does nothing.
I don’t know if it makes people say things they wouldn’t ordinarily say either.
Mania classically causes disinhibition and often psychosis. Disinhibition is manifest in a variety of self-destructive behaviours, including reckless spending, polyamory, dangerous driving, etc, though it can also lead to brilliance (ie not sleeping and being unusually productive). Psychosis is detachment from reality: this can include thinking one is God’s chosen instrument, lizards have infiltrated the government or any number of anti-Semitic/Holocaust-denial beliefs.
All this is to say, Kanye’s ad could reflect the genuine and unfortunate experience of someone with Bipolar I Disorder. There’s no way for us to tell if he’s being truthful, but I’m inclined to give the benefit of the doubt.
Is the ad timed to help improve his public image in time for a new music release? I find it likely; however, this doesn’t, to me, make the ad too much less believable.
It makes no difference whether I believe his sincerity, because his culture and mine do not intersect. I recognize his name, but I don’t think that I’ve ever seen his image. But I think his apology is a public service, to inform people about the causes and behaviors associated with bipolar disorder, to understand the frailties of the people around us.